Henry Lay Sculpture Park
17533 State Highway UU, Louisiana, Mo. slu.edu/lay- center Hours: Daily from 8 a.m. to dusk, January through October; hours may vary in November and December. Highlights: Part of St. Louis University's 350-acre Lay Center for Education and the Arts, the sculpture park includes a dozen permanent works and several pieces on seasonal display. Some are integrated into Story Woods, where artists have interpreted literature and art in a natural setting. Connections: A 5-mile, gravel path traverses rolling terrain that includes an oak and hickory forest, open fields, and two lakes. The trail is suitable for hefty strollers.
Goldman-Kuenz Sculpture Park
2600 Richview Road, Mount Vernon, Ill. cedarhurst.org/sculpture-park Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday Highlights: More than 70 sculptures grace the 80 acres surrounding the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, which offers art classes and includes five indoor galleries. Among the most popular works is Kimball by Chicago's John Kearney, sculpted from car bumpers. Connections: Three paved trails are measured in steps, a plus for the fitness tracker crowd: South Lawn, 1,250 steps; Sounds & Sculpture, 1,400; and the North Woods Trail Challenge, 915. Cedarhurst also has produced a downloadable map and walking tour sound bites available by scanning the QR code. Pets are welcome on a leash, and 10 of the works near the park's perimeter are lit at night for a walking tour called Art After Dark.
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POCKET PARKS
You never know where you'll find an unexpected outcropping of sculpture, tucked into a small park or vacant lot. For example: Webster Groves Sculpture Park comprises works tucked into what could be mistaken for a traffic island at Gore and Kirkham avenues. But it's worth a stroll, enroute to Shady Creek Nature Sanctuary to the east or the shops and restaurants of Old Webster to the south. Rootwad Park (right) highlights a pair of sculptures by Bob Cassilly, the visionary behind City Museum. It's situated just off the Mississippi Greenway, a few blocks north of the Biddle Street Trailhead, with Mural Mile as a backdrop. Also worth considering is Ellen Clark Sculpture Park , situated on the Saint Louis University campus across from St. Francis Xavier Church. Though it remained closed at press time, the park features 16 abstract sculptures by Brother Mel Meyer, a Marianist and native of St. Louis, and is affectionately known as the SLU Dog Park due to the plethora of four-legged visitors. Thirteen of Meyer's works are also on display at the Marianist Retreat Center in Wildwood, accessible from the Al Foster Memorial Trail along the Meramec River.
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